Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Community-Based Research Scholar

Arriving at American University this fall has meant a new school, new people, and a new city. I arrived in D.C. full of passion; ready to devote myself to creating change, yet almost entirely uninformed as to how to do so. The Community-Based Research program has helped me discern not only how to best affect sustainable change, but also within what realms such change is needed. As I continue to develop as a Community-Based Research Scholar, the lessons that I have learned so far within the Community-Based Research Lab shape my understanding as well as the interactions that I make within my community. This is particularly the case in regards to the lab’s focus on an introduction to D.C. itself, the aspects of what community-based learning …show more content…
from the lab’s introduction provided me with the beginnings of insight into the areas of distress within my community and their deep roots in history. Furthermore, the knowledge of higher social structures provided me with insight into the role of diversity, inclusion, power, and privilege that affect my community. The lab’s focus on community based learning therefore provided me with the knowledge to most affectively address such issues as a Community-Based Research Scholar. One of the most poignant of these lessons has been my role as an ally. While I now have some background as to the issues that exist in D.C., my new home is still incredibly new to me. It is therefore incredibly important to recognize that I can best serve my community by supporting the members of my community, working together in respectful coordination with the community as opposed to imposing on the community. The book Liberating Service Learning and the Rest of Higher Education Civic Engagement accentuates this role as an ally. It makes the case that allyship acknowledges that there is a profound difference between individuals who experience a common social structure and those who do not experience the structure, but that there is a place for individuals who do not share the experience to support those who do (Stoecker). It further points out that the resulting principles of allyship include communicating respectfully, speaking only on behalf of one’s own values, working with the community as opposed to for the community, and the importance of action over thought (Stoecker). These guiding principles are vital to working as a Community-Based Scholar to best address the issues within my community. It additionally shapes the manner with which I present myself at my community-based learning site. At Latino Student Fund, I act not as individual but as a member of the community, supporting my student so that they themselves can